Sir, – In the latest Irish Times/Ipsos poll, 65 per cent of the 1,200 adults questioned “worried that Ireland could be dragged into war so it is important for us to stay neutral in Ukraine”. The concept of neutrality seems to generate the false impression that standing on the sidelines of a conflict (even if it is between a democracy and a brutal aggressor) will somehow provide protection to the neural nation. Would neutrality have protected Ireland if Hitler had been successful in taking Britain by force? Would neutrality have protected Ireland if the Soviet Union had subjugated Western Europe? Acceptance of reality would do more to protect Ireland from a foreign invader than the false hope of a neutral status. – Yours, etc,
DAN DONOVAN,
Dungarvan,
Co Waterford.
Sir, – In the period 2000 to 2012 I was involved in advocacy by European development NGOs to the EU institutions. This was a period when many countries, formerly part of the Warsaw Pact or the former Yugoslavia, joined the EU. I was very impressed by their enthusiasm and optimism for their future in what they saw was a haven of peace and democracy. What I came to realise was that they understood, more than we in Ireland have ever understood, the true nature of the EU as a project of peace.
These countries, many located in the heart of Europe, have been subjected to the trials of war, oppression and domination for centuries. While we in Ireland have had our own experience as a British colony, it seems to me we have never really understood what living on a continent, continually wracked by war, was really like. Living on an island, far from the violence, suffering and pain endured by generations, we have had the luxury of adopting a hands-off approach to the reality of war.
I believe that if, in the light of the invasion of Ukraine and the suffering of its people, we do not make the effort to fully understand and appreciate the true nature of the EU as a project of peace for the continent of Europe , Ireland will become, and be seen as, an isolated irrelevance.
We have received the generous support for our postcolonial problem of Brexit from all our EU partners, even though for many of them Brexit is a marginal issue. It behoves us to respond in kind to the deep concerns of countries like Lithuania, Slovakia, Croatia, Poland, and many more, as they seek to secure their future.
This is about the defence of the EU, and however we define our neutrality or otherwise, we need to be part of that in a real, substantial and effective way. – Yours, etc,
JUSTIN KILCULLEN,
Shankill,
Dublin 18.